Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal : Private J Callaghan, 1 Battalion, 12th Foot

Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (2nd type with the small letters reverse, 1874 - 1901). The recipient's number, rank, name and regiment are impressed on the rim. Obverse: A trophy of arms with the royal arms on a shield in the centre. Reverse: The inscription 'FOR LONG SERVICE AND GOOD CONDUCT'. The medal is fitted with a swivelling scroll suspender and a piece of plain crimson 32 mm ribbon.

Awarded to Private James Callaghan, 1st Battalion, 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot for 18 years service in the ranks. The medal was instituted by King William IV in 1830, to be granted to soldiers of irreproachable character who had served twenty-one years in the infantry or twenty years in the cavalry. In 1870 the length of service necessary to qualify for the award by non-commissioned officers and men changed to 18 years' of unblemished service. An officer could qualify for the medal if he served a minimum of 12 years in the ranks before being commissioned. There have been various alterations since 1830 to the design, suspender and ribbon. When Edward VII came to the throne the design on the obverse was replaced by the bust of the Sovereign, while during the 1914-18 War, because of the similarity to that of the Victoria Cross, a new ribbon, crimson with white edges, was adopted. This medal is part of a collection assembled by the late Hon. Sir Thomas Hughes, Member of the Legislative Council of New South Wales. It was presented to the Memorial in memory of his son, Captain Roger Forrest Hughes, Australian Army Medical Corps, who died of wounds in France on 11 December 1916 and his grandson, Flying Officer Peter Roger Forrest Hughes, 12 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force, who was killed on active service while flying in the Northern Territory on 3 October 1942.